Schreyer said renovations to the former Sears store started this fall. The location was chosen because it is easy to get to, is close to highways and has a relatively high concentration of blood donors, she said.

The new site provides more space than the Syracuse office for people to donate blood and for the storage of blood prior to its distribution to hospitals, she said.

Blood collected by the Red Cross locally is sent to the New York-Penn Blood Services headquarters in West Henrietta, near Rochester, for processing. It is then distributed to hospitals, but some will be stored at the Clay site until it is needed, Schreyer said.

Centro expects to begin construction next year on a transfer station that will have 22 covered bus bays and an indoor shelter for passengers while they wait for rides.

The current station isn’t really a station. It’s simply the corner of East Fayette and South Salina streets, which provides no protection from the weather for waiting passengers.

Centro expects to complete the station in the fall of 2011.

The Bell Group real estate consulting firm assisted the Red Cross in finding a new building.